Illuminated house number construction



June 16, 1964 D. L. GEORGE ETAL 3,137,083

ILLUMINATED HOUSE NUMBER CONSTRUCTION Filed Dec. 22, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Donald L. George Wfi/iam E ,Slelhberg Arw'd H Reinke J1m 1964 D. L. GEORGE ETAL 3,137,083

ILLUMINATED HOUSE NUMBER CONSTRUCTION 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 22. 1961 Fig.3

Donald L. George M/liam E .Slel'nberg Arw'a h. Re/hke IN VEN TORS BY ym 3m United States Patent 3,137,083 ILLNATED HOUSE NUMBER CONSTRUCTION Donald L. George, 631 E. th; William E. Steinberg, 618 E. 5th; and Arvitl H. Reinke, Rte. 1, all of Litchfield, Minn.

Filed Dec. 22, 1961, Ser. No. 161,514 2 Claims. (Cl. 40-132) This invention relates to a novel and useful illuminated house number construction. The house number construction of the instant invention is adapted to be supportedgfrom the side of a building or from a standard which may be secured to the ground.

The house number construction includes a hollow housing having interconnected top, bottom and upstanding opposite side walls and front and rear walls are provided and interconnect the forward and rear edges of the top, bottom and opposite side walls. The front wall has an enlarged opening formed therein and a flat panel-like, numeral assembly conforming generally in shape and size to the front wall is secured thereover whereby illumination means disposed within the housing will illuminate the numeral assembly inasmuch as different portions of the numeral assembly are constructed of materials having different light transmitting characteristics.

The house number construction of the instant invention has been designed primarily for providing an attractive water tight enclosure in which the house illumination means such as an electric lamp and a flat panel-like numeral assembly having portions thereof constructed of materials having different light transmitting characteristics if provided and is secured over an enlarged opening form in onewall of the housing. Accordingly, the flat panellike numeral assembly is illuminated from the interior of the housing and the illumination means will be completely encased and protected from the elements.

Still another object of this invention is to provide means whereby collected condensed water within the housing or enclosure may be drained therefrom.

Still another object of this invention is to provide an illuminated house number construction in accordance with the preceding objects having electric. illumination means to which access may be had from the front and the rear of the house number construction.

A final object to be specifically enumerated herein is to provide an illuminated house number construction in accordance with the preceding objects which will conform to conventional forms of manufacture, be of simple construction and easy to install so as to provide a device that will be economically feasible, long lasting and relatively trouble free in operation.

These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fullyhereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the illuminated house number construction of the instant invention;

FIGURE 2 is a vertical sectional view taken substantially upon the plane indicated by the section line 2-2 numeral 10 generally designates the house number construction of the instant invention.

With attention now directed more specifically to FIG- URES 2 and 4 of the drawings it will be seen that the house number construction 10 includes a hollow housing generally referred to by the reference numeral 12 which is provided with interconnected top, bottom and opposite side walls 14, 16, 18 and 20 respectively. The forward and rear ends of the walls 14, 16, 18 and 20 are interconnected by means of front and rear walls 22 and 24 respectively and it may be seen that the front wall 22 is provided with an enlarged opening 26.

A flat panel-like numeral assembly generally referred to by the reference numeral 28'is provided and the numeral assembly 28 includes a flat hollow housing generally referred to by the reference numeral 30 which also includes top, bottom and opposite side walls 32, 34 and 36 respectively. The front and rear edges of the walls 32, 34 and 36 are interconnected by means of front and rear walls 38 and 40 respectively. Each of the front and rear walls 38 and 40 has an enlarged opening 42 formed therein which is complementary in size and shape to the opening 26. A generally panel-like glass sheet 44 is disposed within the housing 28 and has numerals 46 formed thereon which are of a material that is substantially opaque. Of course, the numerals 46 may be defined by uncoated portions of the glass sheet 44 and the remainder of the glass sheet 44 may be coated with an opaque material if desired.

Thefront and rear Walls 38 and 40'and the glass sheet 44 are each provided with an aperture 48 and it will be noted that the apertures 48 are registered and may be aligned with the threaded bore 50 formed in the lower end of the front wall 22.

A generally inverted U-shaped shroud generally re;

ferred to by the reference numeral 52 and including upstanding sides 54 and 56which are interconnected at their upper ends by means of an upper bight portion 58 is provided and the upstanding sides 54 and 56 and the bight portion 58 snugly overlie the opposite side walls 18 and 20 of the housing 121and the upper wall 14 respectively. The shroud 52 may. be secured to the housing 12 in any convenient manner and it will be noted that the forward edges of the upstanding sides 54 and 56 are forwardly and upwardly inclined and that the forward edge of the upper bight portion 58 projects forwardly of thte front wall 22 of the housing 12.

A support flange 60 projects forwardly of and extends along the lower marginal edge portion of the front wall 22 and extends forwardly of the front wall 22 a distance substantially equal to the thickness of the, numeral assem bight portion 58. A depending retaining flange 66 probly 28.

A cap plate assembly. generally referred to by the reference numeral 62 is provided and includes a horizontal flange portion 64 which is disposed between the confronting surfaces of the upper 'Wall 14 and the upper jects downwardly from the mounting flange 64 a spaced distance forwardly of the front wall 22 and it will be noted that the retaining flange 66 is-spaced forwardly of the front wall 22 a distance approximately equalling the thickness of the numeral assembly 28. The mounting flange 64 extends forwardly of the depending retaining flange 66 and terminates in its forward end in an upwardly directed end portion 68 which forms a scroll defining a drip lip. The scroll adds to the appearance of the house numeral construction 10 and additionally prevents rain water and the like which falls upon the upper surface of the upper bight portion 58 from flowing forwardly down across the front face of the house numeral construction 10.

With attention now directed specifically to FIGURE 2 of the drawings it will be seen that the upper marginal edge portion of the numeral assembly 28 is snugly received between the confronting surfaces of the retaining flange 66 and the front wall 22. Then, the lower end of the numeral assembly 28 is secured to the housing 12 by means of a threaded fastener 70 which has its shank portion 72 disposed through the aligned apertures 48 and threadedly engaged in the bore 50.

The bottom wall 16 of the housing 12 includes a small diameter drain opening formed by apertures .74 and it will be noted that the rear wall 24 of the housing 12 is provided with an access opening 76. Electric illuminating means generally designated by the reference numeral 78 is provided and includes an electrical light socket assembly generally referred to by the reference numeral 80 in which an electric light bulb 82 may have its base portion 84 removably engaged. The socket assembly 80 includes a pair of electrical conductors 86 and 88 which are operatively connected to the, socket portion 90 thereof and the socket assembly 80 is supported from a mounting base generally referred to by the reference numeral 92 which comprises a removable closure for the access opening 76. The mounting base 92 includes a plurality of spring clips 94 for releasable engagement with the portions of the rear wall 24 defining the opening 76 and in this manner, the electric illumination means 78 may be removably secured to the housing 12.

With attention now directed to FIGURES 3 and 4 of the drawings, it will be seen that the rear wall 24 also includes a pair of mounting holes 96 and 98 which may be utilized to secure the house number construction to a suitable supporting surface such as the side of a dwelling. Additionally, the housing 12 may be secured to any suitable type of standard enabling the house number construction 10 to be supported from the ground.

As can be best seen from FIGURE 4, the bulb 82 may be covered with a cover lens 83 of any color. in order to vary the color of the light produced by the assembly 80. Additionally, the bulb 82 is of the low voltage type requiring only perhaps 6, 12 or 24 volts and is also of low wattage rating thereby enabling thte bulb 82 to operate 24 hours a day on a small amount of electricity. Accordingly, it may be seen that the illuminated house number construction can safely be installed by the average. home owner. The number construction may receive its electrical power by means of readily available bell transformer or from conventional plug-in-type transformers thereby eliminating the requirement of an electricians services when installing the number construction.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, itis not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. An illuminated house number construction comprising a hollow housing having interconnected top, bottom and upstanding sidev walls and upstanding front and rear walls extending between said top, bottom and side walls, said front wall having an enlarged opening formed therein, a flat panel-like numeral assembly conforming generally in shape and size to said front wall and overlying the latter, said front wall including a support flange which projects forwardly thereof and extends along the lower marginal edge portion of said front wall, the lower edge of said numeral assembly resting upon the upper surface of said support flange, means removably securing the lower marginal edge portion of said numeral assembly to said housing in overlying relation to said front wall, agenerally inverted -U-shaped shroud including upstanding sides and an upper bight portion overlying said upstanding side walls and said top Wall respectively, said bight portion projecting forwardly of the forward edge portion of said top wall, a plate-like flange portion disposed between said top wall and said bight portion and extending between said sides, said flange portion including a depending flange behind which the upper marginal edge portion of said numeral assembly is received, said depending flange being spaced from said front wall a distance approximately equal to the thickness of said numeral assembly, said numeral assembly including portions having different light transmitting qualities defining indicia, some of said portions being translucent, illumination means disposed in said housing, said numeral assembly comprising a flat upstanding housing including opposite top and bottom walls and opposite end walls interconnected by means of front and rear walls having openings formed therein registered with and conforming to the size and shape of said enlarged opening, said portions having different light transmitting qualities comprising a panel of still material snugly received and held captive in said flat housing.

2. The combination of claim 1 wherein said rear wall has an access opening formed therein, said illuminating means comprising an electrical light assembly having a mounting base comprising a removable closure for said opening.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,452,430 Mercer Apr. 17, 1923 1,506,492 Larsen Aug. 26, 1924 1,709,202 Belden Apr. 16, 1929 1,812,919 Balder July 7, 1931 1,844,097 Luhman Feb. 9, 1932 2,097,291 Curtiss Oct. 26, 1937 2,163,329 Sipior June 20, 1939 2,608,013 Marsala Aug. 26, 1952 2,802,292 Badar Aug. 13, 1957 FOREIGN PATENTS 36,495 Italy Dec. 2, 1955 480,181 Canada Jan. 15, 1952 607,281 Canada Oct. 25, 1960 753,387 France Aug. 7, 1933 1,100,049 F ame 1=---=--.T-V-:-.?-- Ma 30, 195.5 

1. AN ILLUMINATED HOUSE NUMBER CONSTRUCTION COMPRISING A HOLLOW HOUSING HAVING INTERCONNECTED TOP, BOTTOM AND UPSTANDING SIDE WALLS AND UPSTANDING FRONT AND REAR WALLS EXTENDING BETWEEN SAID TOP, BOTTOM AND SIDE WALLS, SAID FRONT WALL HAVING AN ENLARGED OPENING FORMED THEREIN, A FLAT PANEL-LIKE NUMERAL ASSEMBLY CONFORMING GENERALLY IN SHAPE AND SIZE TO SAID FRONT WALL AND OVERLYING THE LATTER, SAID FRONT WALL INCLUDING A SUPPORT FLANGE WHICH PROJECTS FORWARDLY THEREOF AND EXTENDS ALONG THE LOWER MARGINAL EDGE PORTION OF SAID FRONT WALL, THE LOWER EDGE OF SAID NUMERAL ASSEMBLY RESTING UPON THE UPPER SURFACE OF SAID SUPPORT FLANGE, MEANS REMOVABLY SECURING THE LOWER MARGINAL EDGE PORTION OF SAID NUMERAL ASSEMBLY TO SAID HOUSING IN OVERLYING RELATION TO SAID FRONT WALL, A GENERALLY INVERTED U-SHAPED SHROUD INCLUDING UPSTANDING SIDES AND AN UPPER BIGHT PORTION OVERLYING SAID UPSTANDING SIDE WALLS AND SAID TOP WALL RESPECTIVELY, SAID BIGHT PORTION PROJECTING FORWARDLY OF THE FORWARD EDGE PORTION OF SAID TOP WALL, A PLATE-LIKE FLANGE PORTION DISPOSED BETWEEN SAID TOP WALL AND SAID BIGHT PORTION AND EXTENDING BETWEEN SAID SIDES, SAID FLANGE PORTION INCLUDING A DEPENDING FLANGE BEHIND WHICH THE UPPER MARGINAL EDGE PORTION OF SAID NUMERAL ASSEMBLY IS RECEIVED, SAID DEPENDING FLANGE BEING SPACED FROM SAID FRONT WALL A DISTANCE APPROXIMATELY EQUAL TO THE THICKNESS OF SAID NUMERAL ASSEMBLY, SAID NUMERAL ASSEMBLY INCLUDING PORTIONS HAVING DIFFERENT LIGHT TRANSMITTING QUALITIES DEFINING INDICIA, SOME OF SAID PORTIONS BEING TRANSLUCENT, ILLUMINATION MEANS DISPOSED IN SAID HOUSING, SAID NUMERAL ASSEMBLY COMPRISING A FLAT UPSTANDING HOUSING INCLUDING OPPOSITE TOP AND BOTTOM WALLS AND OPPOSITE END WALLS INTERCONNECTED BY MEANS OF FRONT AND REAR WALLS HAVING OPENINGS FORMED THEREIN REGISTERED WITH AND CONFORMING TO THE SIZE AND SHAPE OF SAID ENLARGED OPENING, SAID PORTIONS HAVING DIFFERENT LIGHT TRANSMITTING QUALITIES COMPRISING A PANEL OF STILL MATERIAL SNUGLY RECEIVED AND HELD CAPTIVE IN SAID FLAT HOUSING. 